THE WEEK AHEAD: June 3 - 9; TELEVISION

By Ginia Bellafante

Published: June 3, 2007

Few projects have seemed better suited to a network's mission than ''ARMY WIVES'' does to Lifetime's. The dramatic series (Sunday at 10 p.m.) focuses on military spouses, the sisterhood they form, the challenges they face. One wife struggles with a problematic teenager, another with the prospect of financial ruin. In their midst is a husband, a psychiatrist dealing with the return of his wife from service in Afghanistan. Fear not that this borders on the too serious. ''Army Wives'' comes from Mark Gordon, the executive producer of ''Grey's Anatomy,'' and will feel no less soap operatic.

Apparently the ''Entourage'' star ADRIAN GRENIER has been living a soap opera of his own. Raised by a single mother, Mr. Grenier discovered as an adult that she had been dating two men at the time of his conception. His documentary ''SHOT IN THE DARK'' (Sunday, 10:30 p.m., HBO) chronicles his search for his biological father, who, he finds, is living in Lancaster, Ohio. Like ''Flirting With Disaster'' and other films, ''Shot in the Dark'' uses the road trip as a metaphor for self-discovery.

If the notion of a road trip just leaves you feeling hungry, rest assured, a new season of ''THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR'' begins Sunday at 9 p.m. What will happen now? Well, apparently the contestants, competing for their own show on the network, will be forced to leave the studio and venture into the world outside. One challenge will have them creating food for a basketball game.

During her lifetime Ella Fitzgerald collected 13 Grammy Awards. More than 40 million copies of her albums have been sold. On Wednesday, PBS celebrates her with ''WE LOVE ELLA! A TRIBUTE TO THE FIRST LADY OF SONG.'' Natalie Cole and Quincy Jones serve as hosts.

Photo: Ella Fitzgerald performing in 1948 as Duke Ellington, center, and Benny Goodman, behind him, listen. A PBS show on Wednesday salutes her with ''We Love Ella! A Tribute to the First Lady of Song.'' (Photo by Herman Leonard)